The Amarok Squad is proud to announce the second beta release of Amarok 2.0. This release includes a lot of bug fixes and improvements, like the switch from SQlite to MySQL-embedded. The LibriVox service is back, as is lyrics support. Please read the release announcement for a detailed list of changes since the release of Beta 1 and more.

The most significant change in this release is the switch from SQLite to MySQL-embedded as the database backend. MySQL-embedded allows us to use the performance increase of the popular MySQL database, while avoiding non-trivial configuration that comes with a standalone server. Most noticeably, you will see much improved performance of collection scanning and searching, especially with very large music collections.

More generally we have fixed a huge amount of bugs, bringing Amarok 2 one step closer to the stability you would expect for your daily music needs. While not quite stable quality, we encourage our users to test this release and continue submitting bug reports. Already this beta version is good enough for daily use in many cases.

We hope you enjoy this release which we have worked so hard to produce. Stay tuned for upcoming releases, and please do not forget to donate for Roktober!

I am trying to find out "Stop playing after this track" feature. What is very nice when you are leaving somewhere or going to sleep and you can just mark wanted song to be last in playlist, without dragging it as last one or anyother way reorganising or tweaking playlists.

I have been following Amarok 2 using OpenSuse builds, and have not been able to work out how to get songs to be automatically scored. They all just sit a zero no matter how many times I play them. The play-count works, as does the rating (if it rate the files), but the score does not change, unless I change it.

Is this something I am missing, or something not yet done?

Amarok 2 is looking great - I am looking forward to the dynamic playlist being usable, as I think it looks better structured then the old one, but without scores, it is less useful.

Why not? Why should anyone install MySQL if he already have PostgreSQL installed and running? Just playing music is not an argument for running another one resources-consuming app. I'll better use mpd or whatever.

"Why should anyone install MySQL if he already have PostgreSQL installed and running? "
because even if someone has postgreSQL already installed AmarokTeam has to provide sane default configuration which just works. That is why providing embeded mysql is good idea, it will work out of box and still later you may switch to postgreSQL if you really want.
When we finally end this I'm-pro-user-I-want-insane-deault-configuration nightmare? Lets end it and start I'm-pro-user-,sane-default-configuration-is-v.good-and-I'm-happy-that-I-still-can-configure/tweak-it-the-way-I-want

For EXACTLY the same reason you guys could continue using Sqlite. The claim that the performance difference is too big is a joke.

Personally I dont mind because I agree that one should use the right tool for a given job and amarok developers decide what this is best for, but I dislike the argument that MySQL _needed_ to be chosen, as if it were significantly better than any other database.

today a very vital question came to my mind. How can I migrate from Amarok 1 to Amarok 2 once it's been released (a question that's actually a problem with all kde applications from qt 3 to 4). My problem is not so much the playlists and the library that can be done quite fast by hand my problem are my statistics which can't be moved so easy (afaik). Lately I was also asked if there was a plan/possibility to move ones iTunes statistics to Amarok 2 (once it's been released on win and mac too).

I came up with the following to migrate the statistics from the old SQLite collection.db to the new mysqle database.

First: You have to start with a clean collection in Amarok 2. No statistics can have been recorded.
1. rm -r ~/.kde4/share/apps/amarok/mysqle
2. Start Amarok 2 and let it build the collection again, but do NOT play anything!!
3. Once the collection is fully built, quit Amarok completely.

You will need the MySQL server installed and configured. You probably already have it installed since Amarok 2 depends on it, so go ahead and give it an 'emerge --config' if you haven't already set it up. Remember the root password that you choose.

I should have mentioned that these instructions are for Gentoo. Not much should change for other distros -- just how to install, configure, and start/stop MySQL, and possibly the location of the MySQL data dir.

Amarok2 is really doing awesome, and i enjoy the new placement of the various parts!

the central pane contextview looks really promising, but is still a little clunky to use in comparison to the wikipedia/lyrics tabs of a1. But, nonetheless, I'm really looking forward to seeing where it will go :) like kde4 has done successfully, I'm sure amarok2 will successfully polish and complete it's new concepts post 2.0 release as well :)

This is not correct. You can continue to keep it closed source IF you do not release it to the (outside) public. And as far as I know MySQL is not "GPL", MySQL is dual-licensed. And whenever something is dual-licensed it is incorrect to attribute it solely to GPL, because one would think it _IS_ only GPL licensed when it fact it has TWO licenses (like Qt has).

"I mean do we even know how many music files it takes for the overhead of MySQL (in terms of memory) to be worthwhile? " - Collection by yeah

Finally, nobody answered the above question. So, how many files does it take MySQL to show a difference over public domain SQLite? Ha ha ha ...take the challenge and show the FACTS.

How many files does it take to **ditch** a public effort to make an embedded database (SQLite), which strive to second to none, and embrace the commercial MySQL-embedded which Sun Microsystems anytime can close the source?

Show us why do you want to impose **ONLY** MySQL on us? I feel rather **suspicious** over this move.

You want to collect **public** donations to impose commercial products on us?

Why don't you ask a big donation from Sun Microsystems, the present owner of MySQL? For Sun to standardise MySQL-embedded, for people to not try the public domain SQLite, its a peanut marketing expense.

We are trying to escape from using commercial products specially as the parts of the structure or foundation of public open source products. If amarok is developed by a company for profit motive, then I don't have any argument at all.

People questioned the Qt is also a commercial product, released under GPL too, so what's the big deal? the big deal is the Qt **CANNOT** be taken away from us. Read this if you have no idea of what I'm talking about: http://www.kde.org/whatiskde/kdefreeqtfoundation.php

Does the dual-licensed MySQL-embedded also protected like that? If no, do you think Sun Microsystems will ever agree for a such a legal agreement?

If there is no hidden agenda behind this move, ie, switching from public domain SQLite to commercial MySQL-embedded, then what do we call this? This is utter stupidity. This is called foolishness. That is, no F idea what you are doing. No F idea **why** you are developing an open source product in first place. Wake up guys.

Why dont'you take the challenge yourself? Do you really think you are entitled to ask for numbers? If you want numbers to prove something you really need to stop asking everybody for generating numbers for you. You wouldn't trust them anyway, would you?

<>
Uhoh, are you living under a rock? I guess your PC is one of those hated commercial products too, an the table and the chair you are sitting at and the floor etc.. I could go on for hours... And by the way: Your are not <> so stop acting like it.

>>Finally, nobody answered the above question. So, how many files does it
>>take MySQL to show a difference over public domain SQLite? Ha ha ha ...take
>>the challenge and show the FACTS.

>Why dont'you take the challenge yourself? Do you really think you are entitled
>to ask for numbers? If you want numbers to prove something you really need to
>stop asking everybody for generating numbers for you. You wouldn't trust them
>anyway, would you?

Please understand, its not me who ditched the public domain SQLite and switched to commercial MySQL-embedded. The amarok developers should justify their switch. They should have numbers, I'm saying again, if there is no under the table deal with Sun Microsystems, they have no reason not to publish the numbers.

In fact, this is not a question of numbers or performance, this is a question of principals. We are discussing this on KDE website, not on Microsoft or Apple.

If performance is the issue, you are at the wrong place. You are on the wrong OS. You should use most probably Apple's Mac OSX and forget about open source, embrace with your whole heart the closed source.

You are on Linux, FreeBSD, etc. etc. because you have principals. You are not a fool or you are not a blind. You don't like the traps set by billion-dollar companies. You don't like software patents, you prefer to made advances already made by your peers, You are not a puppet billion-dollar companies can manipulate, you are a soldier with a cause.

The question here is, those who portray as the soldiers of freedom denied your freedom to use a public software product if you really want to use, which can never be taken away from you, (SQLite in this case) and imposed on your head a commercial product (MySQL-embedded in this case). You were not given a choice which easily could have given, did not even ask from you for the change, it seems do not even want to justify for the switch.

What all these explain:
1. People who develop amarok have no principals OR

2. There is a under the table deal with Sun OR

3. amarok is becoming a commercial product like their parent MySQL sold public sweat for more than a billion dollars.

What's the public can do:
1. Write to amarok developers and show your displeasure and ask them to support SQLite also.

2. Develop a patch to strip down MySQL-embedded code and use SQLite only or both. (This sure works)

3. Ask the amarok developers to accept the patch (if you support both MySQL-embedded and SQLite) and ask them to show they no hidden agenda.

Is it possible to turn off MySQL when you don't have a large collection and would rather avoid the bloat? I mean do we even know how many music files it takes for the overhead of MySQL (in terms of memory) to be worthwhile?

Okay but you didn't answer. How many music files does it take before using a full relational engine makes a significant difference?

I mean it's not I don't want to trust you, but I find it hard to because say Dolphin has no problem sorting views with tens of thousands of files very quickly, lots more than how many musics people have. So perhaps if you published stats which compares MySQL to a simple but well designed algorithm for 100, 1000, 5000 and 10000 music files it would be easier to trust you. Because otherwise it's hard to believe you I'm afraid, with my apologies.